Car doors fall off, hubands get traffic tickets, kid’s dance extra-curriculars end up costing more than anticipated. So despite the best laid plans, there are always detours. And that’s what I’ve experienced with my exercise. I have a workout schedule (one that I’ll share in my upcoming fitness ebook) where I have specific things I do each day of the week. All of that seemed to go out the window the past few weeks with Joseph’s intense trial work schedule, a car accident, & being sick (twice!–this last one lasted over a week).

But, things have normalized again, & I’m recommitted to my plan.

I also decided, in light of this past week’s inactivity & my birthday yesterday (yes, I did eat two pieces of Joseph’s delicious gluten-free vegan cake he made me), I’m not doing a weigh-in today. I’ve been following the eating plan, but I don’t think my weight loss has been as great with the lack of activity. And no harm in taking a break from the scale for a week.

So, I have no weight loss update, other than, I’m going to continue to eat well, & get back on track with my physical activity. And next week, we’ll see where I’m at.

There is a little “recipe” I wanted to share with you–something I eat many evenings when Joseph has a big bowl of buttered popcorn & we’re watching a movie, & hey, I want to eat something too! This satisfies my need to eat something crunchy, keeps my mouth moving, & is tasty (the hummus salsa makes all the difference!).

For about 200 calories, I get to eat all of this. To make the hummus salsa, I mix 1/3 c. hummus with 1/2 c. salsa (look for a low-sodium brand). I have 3 versions of classic hummus in my free ebook, SIMPLE, if you’re looking for a good hummus recipe. I also like to do cucumber spears, radishes, jicama slices, &/or red peppers. All low-calorie, crunchy food choices.

Also, last week I shared 10 tips for frugal fitness. Katrina asked on facebook how I made time for exercise. Clearly, I’m like anyone else. I struggle with making time, especially when other things get in the way. But in answer to her question, I used to exercise first thing in the morning.

Mostly because I taught fitness classes at that time, but even when I didn’t, I loved starting my day with exercise, before any of my kids were up. Now, I value my sleep more & I fit exercise in throughout my day, at home.

Not going somewhere (ie. a gym) saves money on gas, a membership, as well as time. It takes me 20 minutes just to get to the nearest gym with childcare, so if I went to the gym every day it would suck up at least 2 hours of my day, for only one hour of exercise.

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I have found that without a plan making exercise a priority does not help. Before I go to bed I make a list of the things I need to accomplish the next day (ie the errands, the chores, the kid’s actiivities etc) and I try to be realistic about what I can accomplish in a day. Exercise is always the top of my list and after I know what else I need to do that day, I plan my workout. If its a busy day I do a quick 12 minute HIIT workout while the kids get dressed. If I have more time I plan to run or go swimming or do a longer workout video or a combination of that. It is so much easier to workout if I wake up knowing my plan for the day.

I exercise in our gameroom (basement). I use our treadmill, a recumbent bike, a jump rope, some weights, and some creativity. 😉

I agree with you= there is just no time for a gym (Mom of 4 plus babysit up to 5 more on varying days plus teach Lamaze 1-2 classes per week).

I would say about 3 days per week I get up at 5:30 am and exercise for about an hour by myself. The other 2 days I choose to get an extra hour of sleep and just fit exercise in when I can. I always shoot for 5 days but often have to use a weekend day to get to that fifth day.

However, just like you said, illness (either mine or my kids’) or other stresses can easily sabotage those plans and it really just is what it is! Sometimes life gets in the way and you just do the best you can.

One thing I try to remember is the importance of sleep. If I am sleep deprived all the exercise in the world isn’t going to do a bit of good. You’re doing great!

I’m a college student so I’m in classes from 7:00am to 1:00 or 3:00 depending on the day and work daily too, but I make time simply by making exercise a priority in my life! No matter what my week looks like, what I’m doing, if I have exams, if I’m traveling, etc… I sit down and look at my schedule and see when exercise will fit. Sometimes it means snacking through the day and working out during my “lunch.” Sometimes it means a 5:30 am wake-up call. Sometimes it means hitting the gym at 9:00 pm after a long day of classes, work, and tests.
We only get one body, and in my opinion it shouldn’t be a matter of “Do I have time?” but a matter of “When will I do it?”

I enlist hubby to help. I exercise in the morning before he leaves (he leaves at 8am so as long as I’m out the door by 7 it’s do-able) or I exercise when he gets back from work. On those days he and I enjoy our dinner after the kids are in bed (they are all in bed by 8). Otherwise if I want to do an exercise DVD during the day I use the great ol’ baby sitter called TV without any guilt at all. My kiddos watch a fair amount of TV but it’s never on all day long and they never veg for hours on end. So I have zero problem turning on a movie for an hour so I can get a sweat going. I know myself well enough to know my sanity gets a boost when I get to exercise regularly.

“Otherwise if I want to do an exercise DVD during the day I use the great ol’ baby sitter called TV without any guilt at all.”
Me too!
“I know myself well enough to know my sanity gets a boost when I get to exercise regularly.”
Ditto again. I think we’re on the same wavelength April 😉

It is such a lovely way to extend the hummus without diluting the flavor. I love pace salsa, but it’s so high in sodium! Do you have a fave salsa? I really also prefer some fresh stuff I can get at Costco, but I go through it way too fast to be economical.

And I don’t know about you, but I get the munchies at night, so this is often the only way I can appease my need to keep my mouth moving without getting carried away. (And I will only eat raw broccoli if it’s in my raw broccoli salad w/ cashew dressing, or if it’s dipped in lots of salsa hummus.)

Before I broke an ankle, I rode my bicycle to work (12 miles roundtrip) almost every day. It was not only good exercise, but so much fun, a great way to both start and end the workday, AND my transportation. Otherwise, I just tried to do ‘something’ active every day: taking a walk, yoga, using the stairs at work, whatever. Plus, I’ve done a few push-ups and crunches/sit-ups every day for months–only about 5 minutes fit in at some point during the day.

After about 2 months of ankle healing, I’m trying to get back into the habit of being active. I kept up the push-ups and sit-ups the whole time, but all the rest fell by the wayside during recovery. This week was the first time since January I took a walk for exercise. Next week I’ll start riding my bike again to work.

I love your exercise routine Laurie–it sounds very integrative into your day-to-day, which I’m a huge proponent of. I think walking & biking to & from work or school is the way to go, if possible. I walk my kids to school most days & it’s an awesome way to accomplish multiple tasks.

Bummer about your ankle! I’ve never had an intense injury before (at least one that required a few months off of exercise), but, I know how frustrating it can be when you can’t move when you want to, or the way you want to (ie. pregnancy for me!).

Good luck on the bike riding next week. I’m sure it’ll feel great to get back on again.